REPTILIA 157 



at hand) above the wound to stop, as far as possible, the circulation; this 

 ligature should not be left on more than half an hour as gangrene may 

 set in otherwise; after applying the ligature cut open the wound with a 

 sharp knife to cause free bleeding; some authorities say to suck the blood 

 from the wound with the lips, others say this does the patient no good 

 and may poison the person who does the sucking if he happen to have 

 any sores in his mouth. The wound should now be thoroughly washed 

 with a strong solution of potassium permanganate in water, or, 

 better, the solution should be injected into the wound with an hypo- 

 dermic syringe; in the meantime, a physician should be got as soon 

 as possible. 



The old idea that intoxicating doses of alcohol are of use in such cases 

 is no longer held; the patient may recover in spite of such treatment, 

 not because of it. Slight doses of alcohol may sometimes be useful as 

 a stimulant, and in some cases hypodermic injections of strychnia may 

 be necessary. Tincture of iodine is recommended by some for washing 

 out this wound, but the potassium permanganate solution seems to be 

 the accepted and easily obtainable antidote for the poison. 



It should be remembered that a snake wound is unusually suscep- 

 tible to blood poisoning, so that it should be kept carefully washed and 

 covered with aseptic solutions and cloths. Animals killed by snake 

 venom decompose rapidly because of the decrease in bactericidal power 

 of the blood caused by the venom. 



Venoms of various snakes vary greatly in their toxic properties, the 

 most important types being: (i) those which attack the nervous system; 

 (2) those which attack the blood corpuscles; (3) and those which cause 

 hemorrhages by attacking the endothelium of blood vessels. 



Antivenom sera are now on the market that, when injected hypoder- 

 mically into some part of the body where they will quickly get into the 

 circulation, produce good results in combating the venom. Their 

 use is strongly advocated by some authorities; but, to be effective, they 

 must be injected within a few hours after the bite has occurred. Ac- 

 cording to Ricketts and Dick the antivenin of Calmette is not effective 

 against all snake venom as was formerly claimed. 



It is certainly well for those who travel in some sections of the coun- 

 try, where the larger rattlers or moccasins abound, to carry a small 

 case containing some crystals of potassium permanganate, an hypoder- 

 mic syringe, a rubber ligature, some gauze, some disinfectant, and a 



